Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Bill [HL]

My Lords, the amendments proposed by the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, about which the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Exeter and many other noble Lords have spoken so movingly, are strongly supported by a most distinguished group of charities. Indeed, it would be difficult to find a single collection of institutions more worthy of support. I should declare, before going further, that I am a trustee or officer of a number of registered charities, most of which are small and local. We on these Benches wish to assist in enabling charities to find bequests to which they are entitled, but the amendments raise some misgivings. With respect to the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Newby, the Bill provides for a voluntary scheme, with the banks and building societies administering it and continuing to maintain existing banking confidentiality. If a register is created, then there must be access to it for it to be of any use. Access by outside bodies, however honest, noble and reliable they may be, means an erosion of privacy, even if it is a modest one. The very existence of a bank account may be a confidential matter. I am uncertain whether the gains from having a central register would make up for the loss of this important principle. In this day of easy, quick and cheap electronic communication, it is no more difficult to ask a number of financial institutions to search on your behalf than it is to search yourself—indeed, that is probably easier, especially for the smaller charities, which do not have the resources to make the search. The important principle of banking confidentiality would be maintained. As was pointed out by the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, Clause 12, which was introduced by my noble friend Lady Noakes, provides for a triennial review of the operation of the dormant account arrangements. With the knowledge that this spotlight will be pointed in their direction, there will be every incentive for financial institutions to make a success of the scheme and to give all assistance to those wanting help in finding assets that belong to them. We should remember that banks and building societies are massive givers to charity—they give tens of millions of pounds—and it is unlikely that they would not want to help. The issues raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, have been raised in turn with the BBA, which has been most encouraging in its recognition of the need to work with charities, especially in the early days, when the backlog of dormant accounts will have to be dealt with. As my noble friend Lord Hamilton said, to set up the suggested register would involve expense. As has been pointed out, while it may be self-financing, there will certainly be an initial cost that must be met from somewhere, and there will be running costs thereafter.